Minister raises concerns over ‘ease' of becoming counsellor or therapist

Independent

19-03-2025

Government officials are to examine whether counsellors or therapists can set themselves up too 'easily' amid soaring rates of diagnoses of mental ill health.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said that counsellors in some other countries undergo years of training, but he was 'struck' by how easy it is to 'set up and start charging for it within the next day'.
He said that an 'unregulated private sector' may be diagnosing mental health conditions which are 'not rooted in clinical expertise'.
This may be contributing to the 'exponential' rise of mental ill health diagnoses, he suggested.
It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that there is an 'overdiagnosis' of mental health conditions in England.
Speaking at the Pulse Live conference, Mr Kinnock told GPs that the Government is 'committed' to fixing mental health services.
'The numbers waiting for support and diagnosis are huge,' he told delegates.
'One of the big stories of this week has been the number of people who are economically inactive because they've got issues with their mental health and can't work as a result, so this is an issue that's really holding our country back.
'It's really bad for the people who are suffering; it's really bad for the economy; it's putting massive pressure on our health and care system.'
He went on: 'I also think that we've got an issue with an unregulated private sector.
'I've really been quite struck by how easy it is to set yourself up as a counsellor or therapist and start charging for it within the next day.
'You look at countries like Sweden or the Netherlands, other countries, you have to have six years of training before you can set yourself up on that basis.
'So I am also very worried that there are diagnoses being given out by the private independent sector which are not rooted in clinical expertise, and that is an issue I have commissioned my officials to look at that.
'I think that we've got to get on top of this, and we're absolutely committed to do so.'
He added: 'Demand just continues to go through the roof, partly because people are being diagnosed in a way that isn't rooted in clinical expertise, then you've got a real problem because demand is going through the roof – no matter what you do, you're not ever able to get on top of the situation.
'So that's an example of where we need the investment that's going in, yes, but we also need reform so that we can start to deal with the demand curve that we're seeing, which has been exponential in recent years.'
The Government has announced plans to recruit 8,500 more mental health specialists and have mental health experts in schools across the country.
It comes as officials announced that GPs in England have agreed to contract changes in 2025/26 after the Government confirmed that it will 'fully renegotiate the national contract' with GPs.
Mr Kinnock told the conference: 'I obviously hope that there won't be any further collective action.
'We've had a very constructive and collaborative engagement with the GPCE and I think we have fixed the foundations of that relationship and what we have to do now is crack on and make sure that we move forward into an ambitious and bold reform agenda.
'There is so much common ground between us – the Government needs to free-up GPs so they can do what they love doing, what they're best at doing, which is serving their patients.
'That means cutting bureaucracy; that means enabling the shift from analogue to digital; that means improving continuity of care and bringing back the family doctor.
'These are shared agendas, so what we just need to do is have a good dialogue about how we get there and get into the detail and that is what we have confirmed that we're absolutely committed to having that overhaul and a new contract going into the rest of this parliament.'
Mr Kinnock said that the Government sees GPs as the 'bedrock of the NHS and the 10 Year Health Plan'.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the British Medical Association's General Practice Committee for England (GPCE), said: 'We need to see proof of the Government's commitment to general practice in this spring's comprehensive spending review from the Treasury, and in the DHSC's 10 Year Plan for the NHS: this is where the Government will be able to ensure that general practice can become the jewel in the crown of the NHS in England once more.'
It coincides with a 'special' Local Medical Committee conference in London where GPs are reportedly planning to vote on escalating industrial action by family doctors in England, but the agenda has not been made publicly available.
The conference was called in November, before the announcement about the renewal of the contract.
Motions passed at the conference 'reflect the profession's sentiment', the BMA said, which helps to inform the union's General Practice Committee for England's policy decisions.
GPCE is the only negotiating body for the GP contract across England.